– A poem by Michael Kelleher
I’m there in my mind,
feet firm on wet sand, to look
past Ireland’s teardrop.
Endless horizon,
gentle ocean, warm winds shape
inner harmony.
Salt air serenades,
it’s lilting tones like loved ones
lost some years ago.
Some lie down without
coffins in a shallow grave.
I hear others sing
lyrics of hope that
though not here I’ll still belong,
but from who knows where.
The chorus of love
settles my heart, the rhythm
at one with this place.
My spirits take seed,
scatter through the windswept dunes
to flower renewed.
Immeasurable
grains of sand ground my soul here
for eternity.
BIO: Michael Kelleher has lived in South Wales for 30 years. He wrote his first poem aged 70 and is often inspired by his roots in Cork City and West Cork, sometimes writing in the local dialect of his childhood. His maternal ancestors lived a few miles inland from this place, Ireland is not just a stunningly beautiful country with a long cultural tradition, it’s also both a place of great tragedy coupled with a strong sense of affinity stretching back generations.. Mike hopes that this is evident in his poem.
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